Police search for suspect in mother's murder, plea for possible rape victims to come forward

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston police are on the hunt for a man charged with the murder of a mother found dead in her apartment last September.

Camilo Javier Ayala, 25, has been on the run since the murder of Kenia Guardado Molina, a mother of two children, on Sept. 30, 2024.

On Tuesday, HPD released new pictures of Ayala, who also has a prior sexual assault charge. Due to the brutal details in that case, detectives think there could be more victims.

ABC13 has also learned that there is a second person connected to Guardado Molina's murder that police are working to identify.

Guardado Molina, 27, was caught on camera stumbling home around 2:45 a.m. with a man now identified as Ayala. Two camera angles at her apartment complex on Forum Park Drive in southwest Houston show them appearing friendly and comfortable as they walk to her apartment. Her body was not found until the next day when relatives became concerned that she had not picked up her toddler son from the babysitter.

An autopsy showed she had been shot in the head.

Ayala was charged with murder in November. He has a warrant for his arrest. Court records show a pattern of violence towards women.

In 2020, an ex-girlfriend accused Ayala of assault and told detectives that he put a gun to his head, records state.

In November 2023, records detail a brutal rape.

As a 20-year-old woman was waiting for a ride outside a nightclub on S. Gessner, she said Ayala forced himself on her. When she would not comply, he threw her over his shoulder, walked to his truck, and tossed her inside the back seat. There he sexually assaulted her, records state, all the while "she was trying to push" him off and was saying "No." According to court records, he let her go. She and a friend called 911, and after a confrontation, he "started to laugh."

Records describe the victim as a stranger to him.

Ayala was charged in June of 2024 with sexual assault. Two and a half months later, police believe he went home with Guardado Molina, shot her, and then stole her purse. Video shared with ABC13 shows another person coming from her apartment and attempting to steal her car. Police want to identify that person.

Anyone with information on Ayala's whereabouts, previous encounters with him or the person who tried to steal the victim's car is urged to contact HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

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